Scottish Conservative Cllr Helen Crawford (Aird and Loch Ness) welcomed the recent decision by Highland councillors to approve the allocation of capital funding to a first, prioritised group of Phase 1 school build projects. Crucially these include Beauly Primary and Charleston Academy.
Cllr Crawford has been lobbying for new schools in Beauly and Charleston since being elected in 2022, and last year moved the debate onto the poor state of many Highland schools by holding a vote to declare a School Estate Emergency across the entire Highland Council area. This received national attention and made certain that the poor state of Highland schools was firmly on the Council's agenda.
Under the Council's plans, £20million is to be spent on Beauly primary by the end of 2029, and £80million at Charleston Academy by 2032.
Cllr Crawford said:
"Let’s face it, we’ve been waiting a long time and promises have been made before.
On Beauly, we need to focus on these delivery dates and, with the exception of an additional add on for a much respected local child carer facility, and perhaps multi use sports facilities, we need to ensure that endless talk of co-location of services and fancy Points of Delivery DOES NOT delay us.
Beauly teachers, kids and parents need this.
On Charleston Academy, we need the build to commence in one phase, not a staggered phasing which raises the spectre of having budget allocations being pulled if things don’t pan out as planned.
This is good news for all Phase One schools but there are numerous others across The Highlands which I highlighted during the debate on my motion to declare a school estate emergency, such as Culloden Academy. These schools still need urgent attention - that problem has not gone away. Let’s keep up the pressure and keep this on the agenda."